


For the Greater Good

by AlohomoraHearts



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-07
Updated: 2014-11-27
Packaged: 2018-02-03 17:47:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1753409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlohomoraHearts/pseuds/AlohomoraHearts
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The young and brilliant Albus Dumbledore has to put his world on hold to take his place as the head of his family. All his potential being wasted away. That is until he meets the charming and ambitious  Gellert Grindelwald. Gellert takes Albus into a world he could never imagine but does Albus want to be there?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Trapped

**Author's Note:**

> This is my interpretation of the story Albus tells in The Deathly Hallows...Enjoy.

Chapter 1  
Trapped

The night was just beginning to fall over Godric’s Hollow. The small stream of people 

that still traveling the roads began to dissipate, leaving the whole town empty except for three cloaked figures. 

They quickly made their way in silence over to the iron gates of the cemetery. The tallest of the three opened the gate, which creaked slightly in his grasp.They entered. A sea of tombstones lay before them from the countless generations that had been laid to rest in the old village but the travelers paid them little attention. They weaved amongst the headstones with ease until they came to one of clean, clear cut marble. It stood out from the rest of the ancient stones due to its youth. In synch, they all removed their hoods. The youngest of the three, a weak-looking blonde girl, fell to her knees, ignoring the dampness of the ground. 

She gently pressed her hand on the cold stone. Tears began to form in her large eyes. One of the others took notice of this and dropped to the ground next to her. He had limp, unkempt blonde hair and a serious, stiff posture. He wiped the tears from the girls face and gave her a sad smile. Another tear trickled down his pale face as he embraced the young girl.

The third remained standing. He wore all black, causing his pale skin and waist length red hair to stand out. He was the tallest of the three and looked to be the eldest. His eyes, behind his spectacles, were filled with tears, but not ones of sorrow like his companions. His eyes swam with anger. His fists were pale and clenched, as if he desired nothing more than to slam them against the tombstone. Though, when the blonde girl looked up at him, he masked it instantly.  
“Albus?” She asked him.

“ Yes?” He answered, a bit of his anger beginning to show again.

“ Can you do it again? The thing you did last time?” She begged.

Albus rolled his eyes.

“ Ariana…” He began, but cut off as he saw the other boys glare.

He sighed heavily then bent down next to the two of them. Then, after checking to see if anyone was around, he drew a long wooden stick from his cloak. He waved it over the new grave. Suddenly, flowers began to grow along the base of the stone. Each one was beautiful, they were deep golden and let off a slight glow, illuminating the name carved on the marble, Kendra Dumbledore.

Ariana smiled.

“Thank you” she whispered. 

The group sat in silence for a while but it was broken when another boy entered the cemetery. He was short, thickset, and clearly lacked the skills to navigate the graveyard. They saw him and Albus turned to his siblings and said…

“ Aberforth, take Ariana home”.  
Aberforth nodded reluctantly, got up then grabbed her hand.

“ Come on, we should leave them” He said quietly.

More tears streamed down Ariana’s face. She did not get up.

“ I don’t want to leave” She said firmly.

Aberforth tried to pull her up but she refused to be move.

“ No! I don’t want to go!” She snapped.

Aberforth stayed calm, but took notice that the flowers at the base of the grave were trembling, though there was no wind.

Albus went over to Aberforth “ Keep her under control..” He hissed in his ear. The newcomer was nearing them.

“ No!” Ariana shouted. The petals on the flowers began to wilt.

Aberforth knelt down right next to her “ Ana, please. We need to go home.”

Ariana shook her head.

Abus was losing patience,“ Come on Ariana, you need to go home!” 

“ No! I want to stay here with mum!” The flowers shattered as if made of glass.

Abus lunged for her other hand but Aberforth deflected it.

“ What if I read you a story” Aberforth started, letting no panic slip into his voice “ What about The Tale of the Three Brother? You love that one.”

Ariana nodded weakly and Aberforth helped her up. They headed for the gate of the cemetery.

The other boy smiled at them.

“ Hello, Dumbledores’”He said kindly, pretending he had not witnessed Ariana’s outburst.

Ariana and Aberforth waved then left the graveyard.

The boy made his way over to Albus.

“ I need to talk to you” He said.

“ I know, Elphilias.” Albus nodded.

Elphilias smiled sadly, looking down at the tombstone.

“ Well, with recent events and you having to to take care of you siblings, we will obviously have to put off our trip. We could try again after Aberforth…” He started, trying in vain to mask his disappointment.

“ Go”.

“ What?” He asked

“ You should go. You have worked so hard to go on this trip. One of us should get to.” Albus said heavy-hearted.

“ Are you sure?” Elphilias asked.

Albus nodded.

Elphilias smiled “ Thank you.”

He hugged Albus then stumbled out of graveyard.

Albus watched him go. As soon as he was out of view Albus turned back to the headstone. The anger began to swirl in his eyes again. 

“ This is all your fault...” he whispered, down at his mother's grave.

He was trapped. All his plans, he whole life, just put on hold. It was all her fault. His unstable sister and his talentless brother were the responsibility he did not need. Now Elphilias was going to discover the worlds and its secrets while the most brilliant wizard of their generation sat at home playing babysitter.

This would have never have happened if Kendra could have handled Ariana. If only, Ariana had not killed his mother.

He remembered when he had came home that day, He had been at the library all morning with Elphilias, charting a course for their world tour. The world was at his fingertips. His life ready to begin. Teachers had been telling him to make his way into the ministry, and one day run for minister. The idea had always appealed to Albus. He was brilliant and a visionary, it seemed like the perfect career path.

That path became obstructed the moment he came home that day. He approached the door and could hear someone sobbing inside. He threw the door open and first saw his sister Ariana crying on the floor, then the bookcase that had crashed on the floor.

Albus ran over to Ariana and asked her what happened.

He remembered his sisters horror struck eyes and when she whispered “ I killed her, Albus, I killed her..”

Her voice was barely audible but it rang in his ears. He looked over at the fallen bookcase and realized that protruding from under the wood and scattered books was a slim, beautiful hand, the hand of Kendra Dumbledore. 

Now Albus was tied by the same leash, living with the same fear.  
He was trapped.


	2. Locked

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While working in a bookshop, Albus meets a mysterious young man who seems to have a goal of mischief.

Albus headed back to the house. He opened the door, there was just silence. Aberforth and Ariana must have already gone to bed. The house had a death look in the moonlight. Most of the wall hangings had been removed. Albus had insisted that all pictures of his mother be removed from the house for Ariana’s sake. It gave the walls a barren look, as though it was missing something. 

Albus made his way to his bedroom, the house was very large, the largest in the village, but every time he enters it he feels as though the walls are closing in on him. Right now, he tried not to focus on it all he wanted to do was forget about it for the moment.

He enters his room. The majority of his room is taken up by books. On every was there is a bookcase. The last few days Albus had needed something to distract his mind, so he had taken to reading in every spare second. This has caused the books to be spread about his room. They were piled on his desk, dresser, and even a few on his bed. He yawned and flicked his wand, the books covering the sheets flew back to the shelves. Then, He walked over to one of the shelves and removed a book titled “ Predicting the Future, Hoax or Help?” then sat on his bed and read until he collapsed from exhaustion he had found this was the only way he could get to sleep lately. If he did not he would stay awake for hours thinking about his situation his mother, and Ariana. Still, Albus had not had a good night's sleep since Kendra died for, even when he read himself to sleep, he had dreams about them every night. 

Albus woke up the next morning and got ready for work. To help with their income and to keep himself preoccupied he had taken up work at the local bookshop. It was below him, but in the town it was the most intellect-based job he could get. He dressed in his normal suit and, after making Ariana breakfast, he left the claustrophobic house.

The bell rung as he entered the small bookshop. 

“ Albus!” The store manager called “ We just got in an order of new Shakespeare novels, I need you to sort those onto the shelves. Then, go to the post office and tell them we did not order three hundred copies of “Huckleberry Finn” and I have no f idea why they were delivered to my shop. After that..”

Albus took note of the massive list of things he had to get done. The muggled manager was incompetent and relied on him as much as her relied on oxygen, or at least that was Albus’s opinion. 

Albus, of course could complete all tasks in a matter of minutes, if allowed to use his magic. But that was not an option. The muggles have caged him just as much as anyone in his family. Their way of life was so illogical. All of it so slow and pathetic.

He drudged through the endless list of chores.

After an hour of sorting, moving, and resorting books of books and being yelled at by an angry delivery man, the young wizard was downgraded and exhausted. A fact that was not helped by the young muggle that decided to grab all the ancient greek plays and spread them all over the ground. As Albus knelt on the ground and haphazardly began to place them back on the shelf. About half way through this endeavor his path was blocked by a pair of dark green dress shoes.

Albus looked up. The shoes belonged to a handsome man with chin-length golden hair. 

“ Hello, I need some help” The man said in a smooth, low voice.

Albus sighed and stopped sliding the books on the shelf . He stood up. The man was a little bit taller than him but around the same age. They both were about seventeen. 

“ How may I help you?” Albus asked, mustering a smile.

The stranger brushed his hair out of his face “ I was wondering if you had any books each regarding sorcery?”

Albus’s heart skipped a beat.

“ Umm...Excuse me?”

The man smiled mischievously “ Sorcery” he repeated.

Albus composed himself “ Ah, yes. That would be documented in the fantasy section. It is right over here, if you would follow me…”

He lead the strange man over several bookcases. The man smiled the whole way, his smile was crooked and charming but still unnerved Albus.

“ Here we are.” 

The man looked for a few seconds over all the books. He decided one book then looked at Albus. There was a twinkle in his that intrigued the young wizard but also made his heart race and he could not quite tell why. He assumed it was because of the man’s suspicious disposition.

He waited awkwardly as the man slowly turned each page in the new-found book. After a while, the man looked up.

He took one step closer to Albus, making the space between them uncomfortably small. He shifted nervously but did not step away from the stranger.

The stranger’s smile widened “ I wonder if this book has anything on magic golden flowers” he whispered.

His heart was beating even faster. His mind rapidly searching for an acceptable explanation for the flowers, as well as a reason for this man to know about what happened at his mother’s grave last night. He clearly was no average muggle but Albus was completely unaware that any wizards his age were living in the area. He had lived here all his life. It would be an incredible feat for a young wizard to go completely unnoticed for that amount of time. He must be from one of the neighboring villages, but then why would he have been at the village last night?

“I would not know” Albus finally muttered.

The man laughed. It was melodious and bright.

“ Of course you would not”

And with that remark the man, put the book back, turned on his heels and strode out of the bookshop.

Albus’s head was spinning as he headed back to the place where the books were lying on the floor. But, to his surprise, every single one of the books were placed correctly on the shelf. He knelt down and looked at the mysteriously perfect books.  
“ Who was he?” Albus asked quietly to himself.


	3. Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Albus ponders about the handsome blonde man. Who is he?

The next few days Albus again and again found his mind wandering to the boy with the golden hair. He kept on expecting for him to turn up at the bookshop again but with no luck. Even his siblings began to take notice of his preoccupation.   
“What are you thinking about, Al?” Ariana asked him one morning, four days after Albus met the blonde stranger.   
Albus shook his head “Nothing.” he lied.  
“Liar…” Aberforth muttered.  
Albus ignored him.  
The two siblings humored Albus and left him alone to his thoughts.  
The eldest Dumbledore could not comprehend how there could possibly be another wizard living in Godric’s Hollow and him be completely unaware of him. The most pressing question was why he was watching the Dumbledore’s that night. It gave Albus the chills.  
He could not name why his obsession emerged. He blamed it on the fact that his life had been so eventless for the past few months that a little obsession would help him.   
But days passed and the obsession wavered. Why should he even care? What would he even do if he did see the man again?  
**********************************************************************************************************  
Two weeks passed since the strange incident at the local book store. Still the blonde hung in the corner of his mind but it was more of a ghost now.  
Albus was underneath a willow tree reading, he could hear Ariana and Aberforth playing in the yard not far way. He was trying his hardest to tune them out so that he can read his book. He was reading “The History of Alchemy”. It was not in invigorating but allowed him to expand his magical knowledge in this pathetic muggle-filled town.   
Ariana was screaming happily as Aberforth chased her around playfully. Albus turned away from them. The little girl screamed again.  
“Would you please try and keep it down?” The eldest brother snapped irritably.  
They both looked at him with their bright blue eyes and stopped running.  
“You should play with us.” Ariana suggested sweetly.  
Albus sighed and set his book down. He guessed that he could take a few moments from learning how to achieve endless amount of gold. He got up and went over to his little sister. Aberforth smiled slightly as his brother approached. Albus smiled back and ran at his little sister. She laughed and ran away.  
He chased after his beautiful, fragile little sister.   
“Al, Ana, wait up!” Aberforth called. He then chased after his siblings.  
Laugher and Ariana’s screams rang in the night until the sun went down. But went it did Ariana froze.  
“Ana, what’s wrong?” Albus asked.  
Aberforth went over to her “Albus, your sister is afraid of the dark” He said.  
Albus sighed, he had forgotten.   
She had begun to shake; the grass at her feet was wilting. Albus panicked and leaned over to his sister.  
“Come on, Ariana. Let us go inside.”.  
The little girl shook her head.  
Aberforth pulled on her arm slightly. He was suddenly thrown backwards as if by an invisible fist. He slammed into the ground and skidded a few meters.  
Ariana busted out into tears and hugged on to Albus’s legs.  
Aberforth got up “Ana?” He coughed.  
Albus bent down to his sister’s level.   
“Ariana, I am going to chase the darkness away. Just like mother used to do.” He whispered to the little girl. His chest constricted when he said mother. But the surge of anger and pain had to be controlled. Why did he not remember her fear? If she lost it again….  
He glanced back to his brother. Then back to Ariana.  
“I am going to chase it all away.” He repeated.  
He got up, still feeling his sister on his legs. He raised his wand to the sky.  
“Expecto Patronum!” He called into the night sky.  
An eagle made on pure light soared out of the tip of Albus’s wand. The eagle soared around the sky for a moment then dipped down and circled Ariana.  
The girl laughed as the bird danced around her.   
She followed the eagle as it flew around and made its way to towards the house.  
The brothers followed her slowly.  
“You could have just used lumos...” Aberforth pointed out.  
“But, would it be as beautiful?”  
The younger brother could not argue with that.  
They made their way into the house and the eagle vanished. Albus prepared his younger siblings for bed then went back into the kitchen. But he paused when he entered.  
At the head of the kitchen table sat the handsome blonde stranger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I know Albus's Patronus is a phoenix, just wait.


	4. Key

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dumbledore finally confronts the handsome, blonde stranger.

“Hello.” He said. He wore satin blue suit completed with a layered black cloak that highlighted his stunning blue eyes.

“How did you get in here?” Albus asked. He felt as though he should reach for his wand but could not quite bring himself to do it.

Gellert laughed, his laugh was strong and confident.

“How do you think?” He teased.

Albus said nothing but the man smiled and brushed his hair out of his face.

The silence caused Albus to shift his weight from one foot to another but the man did not seemed to sense the awkwardness. He got out of his chair and made his way over to Albus. He came close enough to him that Albus could the freckles scattered across the stranger’s face.

“The name is Grindelwald, Gellert Grindelwald.” He said. And with that, Gellert pulled out a wand, it was crooked and had a spear-head-looking end and reminded Albus of how the devil’s tail was depicted in artwork. The blonde held the wand up in front of the redhead's face.Then proceeded to use its tip to tuck Albus’s red hair behind his ear. A shiver went up Albus's spin.

“ ...And you are?” The man asked.

Albus nervously pushed his spectacles higher up on his nose and took a step back from Gellert.

“Albus Dumbledore.” He answered 

“ Dumbledore, unique name. Any chance you are related to Percival Dumbledore?” 

Dumbledore flushed with color. He had spent the last seventeen years trying to put himself above his father’s name. He remembered his first semester at Hogwarts, no one could see him as more than a muggle-haters son. That is what made Albus strive for academic brilliance. Once he reached to the top of his class his father was finally put in his eldest son’s shadow.

“ Genetically” Albus answered

Gellert laughed “ Well, we are not an imprint of the success of our parents, no?” 

“Success might be a bit of an overstatement.” He grumbled.

“It is all about perspective, Dumble.” 

Albus raised an eyebrow at his newly-given nickname.

“ Would you like to tell me what you are doing in my house, Gindel?” “Dumble” said awkwardly.

“Firstly, do not call me that, it sounds stupid when you say it. Second off, I want to know why a brilliant, young, handsome, wizard, such as yourself is wasting away working at a bookshop.”

Albus blushed scarlet again.

“I am needed here for Ariana and Aberforth, my siblings.”  
“Oh yes, your mother kicked the can and you got dumped with her luggage. That is pathetic waste of such a beautiful, promising life.” Albus opened his mouth to argue but could not think of anything to say. His future was put on hold for this and he might end up with Ariana on his cloak-tail for the rest of his life.

“That is what I thought,” Gellert said, smiling “You are just wasting away here.”

Albus said nothing but made is way over to his family’s cast-iron stove. He picked up his the teapot and flicked his wand to fill it with water, with another wave of his wand the water was boiling.

“What kind of tea to you take?” He asked.

“What hospitality...” Gellert teased and walked over to the other man. He took the teapot from him. “Allow me” He smiled.

He waved his devil-tail wand and several cups appeared, he then carefully poured the water. He then prepared the rest of the tea with precision and tea leaves. When he was done he handed the tea cup over to Albus.

“ What are your dreams?” Gellert asked.

Albus choked on his tea “What?’

“Your dreams, someone with your talent and knowledge must have some sort of aspiration, a reason for being so great.” He explained.

“How do you know I am talented? You know nothing about me?”

“I know that a kid your age producing a corporeal patronus is something. Also, those flowers were a light, delicate and beautiful piece of magic not known by many. “

“Kid? I am your age.”Albus questioned.

“But I, unlike you, have moved out of the house.”

Albus laughed at this slightly but it was a sad laugh with a depressed quality to it. Still, something about this blonde offered him hope, even if it just was because he was someone to talk to other than his siblings. This man, not matter his utter disregard for personal space, was like a breath of fresh air, a person who he was not personally responsible for.

They sat in complete silence for a while. The sound of them sipping tea was the only thing to be heard. Albus sat down on one of the couches that decorated the living room and Gellert sat down right next to him.

“How would you like to join my revolution?” He asked the redhead.

Albus was just about to inquire about this “revolution” when he heard a door open at the end of the hall.

“Al…,” Ariana said as she came out of her bedroom “Who’s there?”

Albus turned to Gellert “I need to attend to her.” 

Gellert nodded “I will find you tomorrow and enlighten you. It was a pleasure meeting with you Albus.” 

And with that, the boy apparated.  
Albus sighed and helped Ariana get back to sleep.


	5. Revolution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gellert fills Dumbledore in on his plan for the revolution.

The following day Albus was noticeably excited.  
This concerned Aberforth, so he questioned his brother at breakfast the following morning.  
“ Well, you are looking happy, Al” He observed.  
Albus looked at his brother and tried to drain the anticipation from his eyes but to no avail “I do not know what you are talking about.”  
Aberforth looked at his brother skeptically, he knew better. Something good happened last night. And when Albus was concerned, something good meant that it would be bad for him and Arianna. The younger brother kept a close eye on Albus until he left for work. Aberforth wanted to follow him but he knew that he could not leave Arianna alone.  
After the eldest brother left, Aberforth turned to his sister “ Hey, Anna, do you know what Al was doing last night?” He asked.  
Arianna thought for a moment “ Hmm..Last night when I woke up, I thought I heard him talking to someone”.  
They both fell silent for a moment.  
“ Does it matter?” The little girl asked.  
“ No” Aberforth said quickly, then looked out across the way where he could see Albus walking into the bookshop at the end of the street. His eyes narrowed.

Albus flinched as the bell to the shop jingled slightly. God, he hated that noise. Though, the work that he did that day suddenly seemed a lot less tedious than normal. Just the promise that Gellert might show up was enough to add a bit more excitement to the horrendous muggle tasks he was assigned to. That did make him a lot more nervous and jumpy than usual. With every customer that came into the shop he would spin around and check. Check to be sure it was not him.  
The whole work day passed without a sign of the blonde visionary and A became more and more disappointed. By the time he headed home for the day he was beginning to think he had dreamt the whole encounter.  
But as he started headed down the street he heard someone whistling. He spun around and his heart skipped a beat, it was him.  
“ How is life, Dumbledore?” Gellert asked. He was sitting on a brick wall that lined the garden of the house behind him.  
“ Mudane” Albus answered.  
“ Perfect” The blonde smiled, a mischievous look in his eyes.  
Albus shot him a very confused look “ Why?” He asked.  
Gellert smiled “ Well, you see, the more your beautiful eyes see the terrible boredom and dysfunctionality of the muggle word, the better my revolution will suit you”.  
Albus’s blushed brightly but his eyes lit up, he was definitely interested.  
“ ...But such brilliant ideas must never be spoken in such a muggle-ridden place. Let us journey inside. This is my house” Grindelwald said, pointing to the house behind him.  
“ Well, that would explain how you were able to stalk me so efficiently” Dumbledore sighed, realizing that the window to his house looks right into the window of the bookstore, and was right down the street of the cemetery. They would have to pass right by the house in order to get to Kendra Dumbledore's grave.  
Grindelwald took Albus’s hand in his and pulled him over to the front door of his house. He opened the door. Inside was pretty barren, filled with nothing but basic wooden furniture. It did not seem to fit Grindelwald’s eccentric personality.  
“ So, you live here?” Albus asked.  
“ Yeah, its my grandmother’s house. I have to stay here until the trace is lifted off me. I have enough red on my record, I am not going to pick a fight. The last thing I need is to have my wand snapped. It would definitely slow down my plans.” He answered  
“ Why are you not in school?” The redhead asked before he could stop himself.  
“ Expelled” He said quickly.  
Albus’s eyes widened in surprise. He opened his mouth to ask another question but stopped himself, he could not decide if he wanted to know. But Gellert decided to tell him anyways.  
“ The teacher’s at Durstange did not appreciate my ideas. They called them dangerous and radical. They were all idiotic, closed minded fools” He sighed, shaking his head.  
This made Albus's heart skipped a beat. But, for some reason, this did not make his discouraged, if anything, it made him more interested in hearing about his plan. Gellert kept hold of the redhead’s hand and pulled him up to the small second level. He opened one of the doors.  
This room was drastically different from the rest of the house.  
His bed was draped in fine silks and other expensive fabrics. The windows were framed with blood-red curtains. Every wall was covered in papers that were haphazardly hung up and every single of them bore the same rounded script, Albus assumed it was Gellert’s handwriting. He was right.  
Gellert was quiet for a moment., letting Albus look over everything.  
Albus then turned to the other man “ So what is your revolution?’  
“ I’ll show you” Gellert purred. He held the redheads chin in his hand and turned his face towards the windows.  
He paused for a moment“ What do you see?”.  
Albus looked for a moment, watching the people walk up and down the street “ Shoppers” he answered, not getting why he was being asked to do this.  
“ Wrong!” Grindelwald laughed “ What you see are muggles, pathetic and weak, simply waiting until those who are greater than them to show them the route to salvation. We can show them. The most unskilled wizard is more powerful than the every leader in the muggle world combined. They deserve to be lead.”  
Abus thought about this for a good long while. Then something connected in his head. He thought about the idiot bookkeeper. He thought about his father, the things he did to those muggle kids. He thought about what those muggles did to his sister.  
They could have all used leadership.  
“ But the secrecy, all the hiding wizards are forced to do…” He muttered.  
“ All of that would be eradicated." Gelert smiled.  
The redhead looked up at the blonde, a glimmer of excitement in his eyes.  
“ It would be difficult, and I could not guarantee that no lives would be lost. “ He sighed.  
“ But it would all be for the greater good” Albus smiled.  
“ For the greater good” Gellert repeated “ I like that”.


End file.
